"A little corner of Oz in Detroit"

Sunday was even colder than Saturday, but we decided to take a drive to Bloomfield Hills to the Cranbrook Art Museum to peek at the exhibit on "Shrinking Cities." I say "peek" because it's an extensive exhibit that runs through April, spans two museums and includes films, lectures, music, etc.

We were fascinated by the topic, an examination of the trend of shrinking urban centers like Detroit (and Cincinnati and the Manchester/Liverpool region of Britain and Halle/Leipzig in Germany).

From the release:

Since the beginning of the industrial age approximately 200 years ago, populations, economies, cities, and prosperity have been growing nearly continuously, and mostly at a rapid pace ... This historic epoch is drawing to a close. The populations of old industrial nations such as Italy, Germany, Japan, and Russia are beginning to grow smaller, and the process of urbanization has reached its zenith and is declining. Between 1950 and 2000, more than 350 large cities across the globe, including over 60 in the United States, lost a significant share of their inhabitants and economic activity. Shrinkage leads, as expansion once did, to fundamental shocks, which result in societal reorientation through changes in visions, modes of action, and methods.

Patrick called some of the graphs and charts "a graphic artist's dream." I was fascinated by the pictures of hollowed-out cities worldwide.

The whole exhibit was super interesting, and I'm sure we'll attend some of the lectures at the sister exhibit by the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.


I was especially interested in a section on Tyree Guyton, an artist who transformed abandoned, dilapidated houses in Detroit into works of art (depending on what you call art) in what became known as the Heidelberg Project.




I'm thoroughly fascinated by Guyton's story, particularly the war he got into with former Mayor Coleman Young, who allegedly ordered some of the decked-out houses demolished with just 15 minutes of warning. They waged battle for years.

Descriptions of Guyton's work say he transformed a hard-knocks, frightening street into a place of hope that attracted people from far and wide. I don't know if I'd want Guyton's polka dot house next to mine, but I love this story on the transforming power of art. (For more on Guyton, read here.)

I also love that the MOCAD and Cranbrook exhibits intend to examine not only the disastrous effects of depopulation, but also ways that the cities that be reclaimed and rejuvenated.

Hey, you could certainly say it happened on Heidelberg Street.